Dusk Trail
Part 1 Chapter I Blackpaw turned around at the sound of twigs snapping behind her. "Bluepaw? Where are you?" Bluepaw? A shadow passed over the wall. "Bluepaw? Is that you?" "Blackpaw!" The blackness melted. Blackpaw's eyelids were tinged with red, shading her eyes. She lifted them. A fluffy black and white tom sat beside her. "A little late sleeping," he added. "Oh no... did I miss the dawn patrol?" "Yes, and I had to pretend I was a cat called Blackpaw." Swiftpaw rolled his eyes. "Distinct similarity." "Really?" Blackpaw choked back a laugh. Swiftpaw scored his claws across a tree, sharpening them. "Only 6 months till you're a warrior. And part of being one is being on time," He scorned in petulent tones. Sighing, Blackpaw sat down by the tree. A wind rattled in the trees. For a second, the little light shining through the cloud cover grew dim as if somethin Was leeching it out of thE world. Swiftpaw shivered. "Looks like a storm. Let's get in the..." Before he could say another word, a torrential rain pounded down on the camp. The apprentices sprinted for the den. "I was only there for a second and I'm soaked!" Swiftpaw laughed. " You can never tell with the weather these days." They shook themselves off. Swiftpaw gazed out at the violent rain beating down. That day of the rain, I had the first dream. I was walking through a forest shaded by clouds, but not entirely dark. It was like just before the storm. Not too dark, but not too light either. The wind in the trees made the same sound as the one in the storm. For a second, I was afraid it would rain. But it was strangely calm. '' ''All of a sudden, the loud crunch of snapping bracken came from behind me. I whirled around an unsheathed my claws. But there was nothing. It was only a dream. Why am I scared? I kept my claws unsheathed. This is called a good idea. The sounds didn't come again. But the cold yowl of a cat made my heart pound harder than ever. When I woke up, it was still raining. It rained all night too, so no one could go out on patrols or anything. I didn't have any more dreams that night. (Blackpaw's point of view) The next morning, Bluepaw looked out of the den, shocked at what lay before her. "The whole camp's flooded!" she gasped, ducking back inside the den to where the other apprentices were sleeping. "Let me see!" Bluepaw ran out, splashing her sleek blue fur as she leapt straight into a puddle. "Woah," Swiftpaw's amber eyes widened. He had never before seen so much water. "It's all over the territory too. Everything's a mess," Bluepaw filled them in. "Waterspring just told me. She says we're only sending out the best swimmers today." She jumped into another puddle. "It rained a lot last night!" Brackenpaw commented, sliding out of the den. "I never thought it would rain this much!" The clan deputy walked over, his muscles rippling under his long black pelt. The fur tufts that stuck up from his ears blew around in the wind. "Be careful, all of you. Watch where you step," he warned the younger cats. "There's major flooding, especially since our territory is downhill. TwilightClan are lucky. They live on the moor, so they only have small puddles in their territory." "Will we just be stuck in camp for the rest of our lives?" Bluepaw gasped. "It'll take forEVER for this all to dry up!" Mallowsprout turned his clear green eyes to the sky. "It looks like there's more on the way." Bluepaw groaned. The apprentices were so close to their final assessment. And if it had to be postponed because of the weather.... she didn't want to think about it. Shoulders slumped and head bowed, she sat down. "Are you... upset about something, Bluepaw?" Mallowsprout seemed concerned. "No... nothing," she lied. Blackpaw was out on patrol, Mallowsprout and Waterspring with her. "It's so cold I'm not surprised all this rain turns to snow in a little while," Waterspring commented. "Yeah," Blackpaw put in, only half listening. "Waterspring?" Waterspring turned. Blackpaw motioned her to talk in private. Mallowsprout, seemingly oblivious to her behavior, pausing the patrol's walk through the trees to lap from an overflowing creek. "What is it?" Waterspring queried when Blackpaw had pulled her behind a bramble bush. "Have you ever had any dreams from StarClan?" Waterspring stopped dead, her paws deep in a muddy puddle. "N-no. I don't believe I have." she kept her face turned so that Blackpaw couldn't see her eyes. Long silence. "Okay," Blackpaw mewed, unsure of what to do when she saw how uncomfortable the other was. "Have you?" Waterspring asked softly, still not looking at Blackpaw. "Yes," Blackpaw answered truthfully. "Last night. But it didn't look like how I thought StarClan would look. It wasn't light enough to be StarClan, but it wasn't dark enough to be the Dark Forest." "How do you know about the dark forest?" Waterspring whirled, amusement glinting in her eyes. "I er... well actually the whole Clan knows about it. I mean, Skyfall told all the kits the stories about it." Waterspring stifled a purr. "Come on," she meowed in her airy, soft tones. "Let's go back to Mallowsprout." Mallowsprout was looking at the sky when they found him. He looked worried, pacing back and forth and back and forth. "It's going to rain again," he informed the rest of his patrol. "I suggest we head back." "We didn't get much patrolling in today," Blackpaw said. "What can we do, though?" Waterspring countered. "No Clan is going to risk warriors to patrol in this weather. Only a total mouse brain would!" "She has a point," Mallowsprout told Blackpaw. "Let's go in." Chapter II That night I had another dream. Surrounded by bracken fronds, I woke up. Finding myself in the same forest as yesterday. Little drops of rain splashed on the grass and dead leaves. It wasn't the leaves that scared me senseless though. Two pale, colorless eyes glowed at me from behind the large group of trees. I stumbled backward. Wake up, I told myself. Wake up! Blackpaw, won't you just WAKE UP! But no. I was frozen in my dream. Locked here until I saw this stranger. I couldn't run. I walked forward. The eyes moved towards me. Then when the whole cat emerged from the darkness, I relaxed. It was only a cat. He was a large brown tabby with a thick, battle scarred pelt, and he was semi-transparent. I was brave enough to move closer. Until he was only three tail lengths from me. '' ''"Who are you?" I inquired, looking him in the eye. The cat sat down. "My name is Redscar." I sat with him. "I'm Blackpaw." "I see. What brings you here, Blackpaw?" he asked, his smooth voice deep and clear. '' ''"I don't know. I just dreamed..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. "What is this place?" I finally asked. "This is the Place of Shaded Light," Redscar told her. "Cats come here when StarClan cats feel they aren't worthy of either StarClan or the Dark Forest. It's a bit of a second chance, don't you think?" I didn't understand, but I nodded, trying to look interested. "This place is never too light or too dark. But I deserve StarClan, Blackpaw. I deserve it. And I want you to help me get there. I have brought you here, Blackpaw, so now you know exactly waht you're doing here. So here we are, and you have two choices. One is to help me on my journey to prove I am StarClan-worthy. And another is to let me stay here, decaying, until there is nothing more of me. The cats in StarClan are always remembered. But the cats here are forgotten, mere memories, until every cat forgets about them and they fade... and fade.... but medicine cats see StarClan cats all the time. They believe. And that's why the StarClan cats never go away." I looked him straight in the eye. "Okay," I said finally, after what seemed like an eternity. "Thank you," Redscar said. "Now you can go." Blackpaw woke up. Rain pounded on the den roof. She had some memory of her dream she couldn't shake off. A cat had asked her to help him prove himself to StarClan... Blackpaw washed herself, feeling unceartin. Who was she trusting? She assured herself it would be fine. After all, dreams couldn't possibly be for real... could they? Chapter III Category:Fanfiction